My Wish
by sktrgrl13
Summary: Four years have passed since Sellon Gerard tried to obtain the Core of Magic and everything had returned to normal... that is until an ancient plot that has been in action for centuries threatens all that they've fought to protect. Yaoi! (Final installment to SM, HM, FM; FM, KM, LM; and Road to Happiness!)
1. Chapter 1 - Four Years Later

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns the magnificient Fairy Tail and all other characters mentioned in the italicized section do not belong to me either.**

**Warnings: Yaoi, Language, Violence**

_It was his fault…_

_He had known that his happiness, no matter how small, wouldn't last forever; he should've just listened to his instincts and kept everyone at arms' length. He had to chuckle under his breath and pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead. Who was he kidding; he had succeeded in keeping everyone at arms' length. He always smiled, never once had someone in their town see him frown; even when he was sad or even scared, he would simply smile to try and get them off his back. It had worked too… for the longest time since his twin brother's death, he was alone. It was just safer this way; his magic was just too unpredictable and then there was the Core of Magic that he possessed to contend with as well. _

_He spent all those years hiding and running, but then he met him. The dark haired, red eyed silver dragon slayer…he was different than the others. He could close his eyes and remember how he used to tease the dragon slayer by shaping his name into different and sometimes disrespectful forms. He refused to call the dragon slayer by his real name even if his life was threatened; it was all part of the game. Even though the dragon slayer claimed to hate him, he introduced the core bearer to his guild; Sakura Feather. It was an odd guild led by an even stranger master; but it was in the master's job description to be odd. _

_Through the dragon slayer, he was introduced to a young boy and a young girl as well as the dragon slayer's cat Mokona; though it seemed they never got along. Though, the more people he met, the more his smile changed from fake to real. His new family had yet to learn of the core or his destructive magic due to the fact that he refused to use it. Many people questioned him about it; asking why he was in a wizard's guild when he didn't even use magic, but he would simply laugh, smile and lie. However, there was one person who was able to see though his lies and that was the dragon slayer… and that irked him. _

_The only reason was because he knew that this dragon slayer would be the one to breach his walls. This dragon slayer was the only one with enough power to break him; this was because the dragon slayer had managed to steal his heart. Afraid that the dragon slayer would get to close to him and discover his secret and leave him forever, he ran away from his guild and disappeared without a trace. He thought he was free from that fear only to find himself captured by the very past he was trying to run from._

_He could still feel the fear building in his chest and the sweat that dripped off the tip of his nose as he stared up at his old guild master. The man's long, dark raven hair blew in the soft wind and amber brown eyes stared at him half-crazed. He remembered the way, the guild master wrapped his thin fingers around his slim pale throat and squeezed. He remembered his vision fading to black as his life was slowly leaving him; his magic both core and lightning going crazy in its attempt to break free. _

_Suddenly, the grip was off his throat and he fell to the ground his breaths coming out in pained gasps. When his hazy vision cleared, he could see the members from Sakura Feather around him; fear and determination set in their hazy faces as they cast their magic. His eyes widened as he looked in front of him and saw his dragon slayer; a sword planted through his past guild master's chest only to have the sword disappear back into the dimension it was stored. The dragon slayer turned towards him only to reveal why the sword had disappeared so suddenly; the dragon slayer no longer had a left arm and blood was everywhere. The last thing he remembered before everything went black was the core activating within him and his Lightning magic going berserk. _

_When he had awoken everything had attacked him in a rush of colours and blurs. He sat up quickly and glanced beside him to see the dragon slayer lying in the bed next to him; his red eyes burning holes into him. For the first time in a long time, a genuine smile spread across his lips and he called the dragon slayer by one of the silly nicknames he came up with. Immediately, the dragon slayer relaxed and of course told him to shut up; but for them, that was normal. Not long after that, he had accepted his destiny as the dragon slayer's mate. _

_Nothing had changed between them; he still teased and was chased for it, but things between them were much more relaxed. Then…he had gotten pregnant; the first male in history to do so. He had soon learned that it was the result of the Core of Magic merging with the lost magic of Dragon Slayer magic. Just as he was the first male to gain the Core of Magic, he was the first male to introduce the idea of reproduction between two males. It was strange at first for both of them, but they had grown to accept it and even though the dragon slayer refused to admit it, he was excited. _

_When it came time for the baby to be born, they were nervous. They both knew that it was unlikely for him to survive the birth, but they hoped. He remembered hearing their daughter's crying, but then everything went black. When he came to, the dragon slayer was hovering over him worriedly; it was as if he hadn't slept at all. After he had recovered and met Akira, he thought that everything would return to normal; but of course as in the fate of the bearer of the Core of Magic, it was not meant to be._

_On the year of Akira's seventh birthday; they came for them. Surprisingly, they left young Akira alone even though she too possessed a Core of Magic and only to the dragon slayer and himself. He didn't know where they ended up or exactly what was going on until some kind of lacrima started to absorb both his Lightning magic and Core. He didn't understand why the dragon slayer was with him until they had sealed away his magic using relics and started to beat him to death every time he was defiant. He begged for them to let the dragon slayer go, but they didn't listen; they only let the dragon slayer go on the day of his death… and the day of his own…_

Gray shot forward in his bed, sweat pouring down his face as harsh pants escaped his throat. He pressed the heel of his palm to his forehead and shuddered at the weird familiarity it brought. The dream was already falling into the recesses of his subconscious, but he couldn't help but feel that it was something extremely important. His dark brows furrowed together as he tried to remember what happened when warm arms wrapped tightly around his waist. The ice mage jumped slightly from the unexpected contact, but recovered when the familiar scent of campfire reached his senses.

"Gray," A sleepy voice inquired, "Are you okay?"

The raven looked over at the exhausted fire dragon slayer and nodded his head. The pinkette sighed softly before sitting up behind his husband and resting his chin on a cool, pale shoulder. Small goosebumps appeared on the ice mage's skin as the heat of Natsu's body intermingled with his chill. He wrapped his scarred hands around that of his mate's and squeezed the tips of the calloused fingers tightly and reassuringly.

"I'm okay Natsu," He murmured soothingly, "It was just some weird dream."

The dragon slayer tightened his hold slightly,

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Gray turned his body completely around so that he was now straddling his husband's lap. He wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him close so that their foreheads rested against one another comfortably. He stared into the familiar onyx eyes and felt his body relax even further. His fingers played with the hairs on the nape of Natsu's neck before pressing a chaste kiss on the slightly chapped lips. Gray leaned back a little so that the kiss was broken, but there lips were only a breath apart.

"It wasn't about **that**," He assured him, "I'd tell you if it was about Gerard, you know that."

Natsu tensed at the name, but he slowly calmed down as the words sunk in. The pinkette nodded his head in understanding before pressing his lips against Gray's once more. The raven had gotten used to moments like this over the past four years. There were times when either or both of them would wake up in the middle of the night thinking that the other and their sons had died at the hands of Sellon Gerard. It would make sense that Natsu would think Gray had one of those dreams. Gray snuck a glance outside their bedroom window and saw that the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon.

"How about I go start breakfast, yeah?"

His dragon slayer opened his mouth to respond when his stomach did it for him. Gray chuckled under his breath before kissing Natsu's forehead and climbing out of bed. He was halfway to the door when the pinkette's warm arms were wrapped around his waist once more and was pulling him back towards the bed. Seeing where this was going, Gray tried to struggle out of his husbands grip and make a dash to the door; if Natsu got him over to that bed, there was absolutely no way in hell he was getting out of it again.

"Damnit flame brain," Gray laughed, "Let me go!"

Natsu paused a moment in fake contemplation before smirking,

"Nope, not going to happen."

Gray was still laughing when his back hit the sheets; his laughs changed to gasps as the dragon slayer hovered over him and nipped at his neck playfully. He buried his fingers in the pink locks once more and pulled Natsu's face up so that their lips meshed together once more. For once taking advantage of the situation, Gray wrapped his leg around the back of Natsu's causing it to give out. When Natsu's leg buckled, Gray pushed forwards and flipped them over so that he was on top of the dragon slayer. Natsu stared up at him with wide eyes for a moment before slipping them closed and deepening the kiss.

The ice mage pulled back for air and quickly jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. He was about halfway down the stairs when Natsu's frustrated voice reached his ears. Gray chuckled as he wandered into the kitchen and reached into the cupboard above the stove to grab the frying pan. He placed in on the counter before walking over to the fridge and pulling out the butter and a container of eggs; between Natsu and Toshiro the entire was carton was going to be empty. He returned to the stove and set the temperature before lathering the frying pan with butter.

For the third time this morning, warm arms wrapped around him. Gray sighed and leaned backwards as a rough kiss was pushed against his temple. The raven chuckled at his husband's impatience and opened the carton of eggs. He cracked two eggs off the edge of the pan before opening them and letting them fall. He grabbed his spatula out of his holder and started playing with the yoke gently.

"Stop pouting Natsu," Gray teased, "It's not attractive."

The pinkette huffed and leaned his head over the raven's shoulder,

"I'm not pouting you ice bastard."

"Of course you're not," He smiled, "Are the boys up yet?"

Natsu grew quiet for a moment, but that was normal for him. Gray knew that his pink haired idiot was too lazy to go upstairs again and check himself so he was just listening to them. After a few moments, Natsu nodded his head before pulling away and walking over to another cupboard in the kitchen and grabbing four plates. He placed them on the counter beside Gray before heading towards the fridge and grabbing the bread. Gray watched him out of the corner of his eye as Natsu took pieces of bread out one by one and turned them to toast by heating up his hand; sometimes fire magic was useful.

Gray picked up the butter that was beside him and placed it on the table beside Natsu. He returned to his eggs and quickly moved them out of the frying pan and onto one of the four plates; he continued this pattern until all the eggs were cooked. Gray and Natsu each grabbed two plates and placed them on the table. As Natsu went to grab the cups and juice Gray turned towards the staircase,

"Oi Niall, Shiro!" He called, "Breakfast is ready!"

After a moment, the sound of running footsteps and voices reached his ears. Gray shook his head as the boys raised down the stairs and took their respective seats at the table. The raven really couldn't believe that four years had gone by; Niall and Shiro were turning twelve later this year. Sometimes he couldn't help but think that they were getting too old and that they had to stop growing, but of course that couldn't happen. Both Toshiro and Niall had grown into strong, enthusiastic young boys.

Toshiro still remained the taller of the two by a good inch or two and his pink hair was still as wild as always. Every day, he looked more and more like Natsu; it was kind of scary. Especially when he and Natsu would fight on one side of the guild and Toshiro and Niall on the other…surprisingly, the guild is still standing. Shiro's fire magic is getting stronger every single day and sometimes it goes a little crazy, but when Niall's around it usually tends to be alright. Niall himself was still slighter than his older brother and he had more aspects of his Papa; he was more silent and calculating whereas Shiro tended to act before think.

Gray assumed that the boys were like this because of who they were raised by. Sometimes he thought about what it would've been like if he and Natsu were able to raise the twins together. But then his mind would jump back to the day they were reunited as a family and Niall completely did a Natsu and ratted him out to Erza; maybe it's a good thing that Niall is more like him…two Natsus is enough of a handful.

"Papa?"

The ice mage blinked a couple times before glancing at his pink haired son,

"What's up Shiro?"

The young fire mage tilted his head to the side,

"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?"

Gray laughed and ruffled the pinkette's hair playfully before sitting across from him. He pulled the chair closer to the table and was about to dig into his food when he felt someone's eyes on him. He glanced over at Natsu, who was sitting beside him, and immediately noticed the tight expression that he had on his face. The raven placed his hand on his dragon slayer's knee and squeezed in comfortingly. The dragon slayer relaxed slightly and continued to shovel food into his mouth. Gray started to eat his breakfast soon after creating an eerie and oddly tense silence in the room.

"Dad, Papa?"

Gray looked up at the twins' combined voices; he felt Natsu doing the same,

"Yeah…"

Niall shifted in his seat nervously before putting his fork on the plate. Gray raised an eyebrow and placed his own fork down. He carefully crossed his arms over his chest (only to realize that it was bare…again) and looked at his sons suspiciously. They had mirrored looks of nervousness and fear; it made a sudden chill travel down his spine.

"Well," Niall began, "As you know, we're turning twelve this year…"

"Yeah," Natsu nodded.

"Uh…" The smaller raven avoided the intense gaze of his father, "Why don't you take it from here Shiro?"

The younger pinkette's jaw dropped open and he clenched his fist as if he were going to pummel his brother, but quickly let it drop to his side. Gray waited patiently for one of them to continue, but he could feel Natsu's anxiousness escalating from beside him. He uncrossed his arms and tangled his hand in the dragon slayer's to calm him down. When he felt the pinkette relax he turned his attention back towards his sons,

"What do you guys want to ask us?" He inquired, "Don't be shy, we won't get mad."

Toshiro fiddled with his napkin as he spoke,

"Niall and I were…uh…wondering if we could go on a job…without you…"

Gray's eyes widened almost comically and he was pretty sure that if he hadn't stopped it, his mouth would've dropped to the floor. The first thing on the tip of his tongue was 'hell no, you're too young; maybe next year', but then he thought of when he and Natsu first started taking missions; they were only eight. Then again, they didn't have parents who worried about them; well the guild worried about them from time to time, so that sort of counted. He glanced over at his partner and noticed that he was almost as struck stupid as he was.

"Why the sudden ambition?" Natsu chuckled, "Getting tired of your dad and papa?"

Niall paled and started waving his hands back and forth frantically,

"NO! That's not it at all! We…we just want to see what's it's like to be by ourselves! We'll be good and won't destroy any towns, we promise!"

Gray laughed at his youngest before looking towards his oldest,

"If we say yes, would it be okay if we set some ground rules?"

Twin pairs of deep blue orbs lit up and they nodded their heads enthusiastically,

"Yeah!" Niall chirped.

"Will you really let us go?!" Shiro bounced in his seat excitedly.

The ice mage looked over at his dragon slayer before they both nodded their head in agreement. The boys erupted into bright smiles as they jumped out of their chairs and ran towards their parents and hugging them as tightly as they could before switching. Gray ran his fingers through their hair as he thought about what they were doing; his boys were really growing up fast.

"Alright," Natsu began, "The only way you can go is if you go with Wendy and Romeo, but if they're too busy ask Happy to go with you; is that clear?"

"Yes Dad!" Shiro and Niall nodded as he saluted.

"Your quest can't be longer than two days and if something goes wrong, you have to send word right away," Gray intoned, "Even if you have to resort to **that**."

The family exchanged looks for a brief moment before the twins nodded in understanding. The Core of Magic was almost always never used; the only time Gray himself would use it was if his life or his family was in danger and even then it was a last resort. He didn't want the chance that the twins would get found out and their lives would be ruined the same way his was. He felt Natsu wrap a supportive arm around his waist and he leaned into the embrace thankfully.

"Alright," Natsu smiled brightly, "You better help your Papa do dishes and then get ready so we can get to the guild as fast as possible."

"YEAH!"

As Gray watched his sons jump around the house excitedly, he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding settle in his stomach. Then again, he was a father letting his sons out into the world for the first time, he should be a little nervous; right?

TBC

**THE LONG AWAITED 4****TH**** PART TO THE CORE OF MAGIC SERIES! ARE YOU EXCITED?! I KNOW I AM, I HAVE BIG PLANS MUWAHAHAHAHA! **

**Alright, I have some warnings for this story… now it will center mainly on NatsuxGray and of course their lovely boys, but I am warning you ahead of time that my favourite pairings from various other anime will make their appearance. They will pay a big part, but they WILL NOT and I repeat WILL NOT hijack the entire story; they are there for support purposes. The villains however are completely of my own creation and they will be as dastardly as before! XD **

**I already mentioned one of the supporting pairings via Gray's dream at the beginning (cookies to those who can guess the anime and pairing!) but I will say that my other pairings will come from:**

**One Piece  
Bleach  
Katekyo Hitman Reborn!  
Yu Yu Hakusho  
Shaman King**

**Sorry if you haven't heard of these shows (tho you should know most) or you don't like the idea of me having extra pairings; don't let it ruin the story for you! :( I seriously promise that they won't take away from the story; in fact they'll answer many unanswered questions.**

**Waiting on your reviews :)**

**-sktrgrl**


	2. Chapter 2 - Happiness Doesn't Last

"We actually did it!"

Niall chuckled under his breath as his older brother jumped around in front of him; his fists pounding the air enthusiastically. If the young ice mage didn't know any better he would think that Shiro's entire body was going to combust. He honestly didn't think that their first mission without their parents would go as well as it did; especially with Shiro's habit of running head first into a situation without thinking. Even better, they didn't get any severe injuries, so now their Papa and Dad wouldn't suffer from a coronary when they saw them. The raven shook his head as his older brother continued to jump around in front of him; he had to wonder where he got his energy from sometimes.

"Aye sir!" Happy shouted as he floated in the air, "You guys did awesome!"

Niall felt his cheeks heating despite himself and rubbed the back of his neck,

"Thanks Happy! But we wouldn't have even been able to go without you, so you're awesome too."

He smiled when he noticed the blue cat's blushed cheeks as well and ran down the dirt road towards Shiro. The pinkette had finally calmed down and was walking with his hands behind his head comfortably; his deep blue eyes watching the sky. Niall could feel Shiro's confidence and adrenaline rolling off of him in waves; he had a feeling that like him, today was going to be one of the best days of his life. The pinkette turned towards the raven when he noticed his presence and smiled brightly before wrapping his arm around Niall's shoulders.

"I can't wait to tell Papa and Dad about what happened!" Shiro chirped, "I wonder if they missed us at all…"

Niall raised an eyebrow and rolled his eyes playfully,

"You're kidding right; of course they missed us. Hell, they weren't even going to let us leave."

Shiro laughed as he remembered what happened at the guild before they left,

"That's so true; Aunty Erza and Aunty Lucy were just as bad."

Niall watched his brother face the road ahead of them once more. Shiro was generally a loud person who was full of energy, a lot like their dad, but they were these moments where he would just go silent; even Niall didn't know what he thought about. In ways, it made him think of their Papa because he always had a tendency to think too much as well. They often pretend that they don't notice and continue doing what they were doing, but sometimes their Papa is so out of it that their Dad gets worried; that's usually when they know that something is wrong.

"You guys got quiet all of a sudden," Happy stated deviously, "Are you thinking about girls? ~"

The raven nearly tripped over his feet and fell on his face, though it would've been a reprieve from the blush that was once again heating up his pale cheeks. He could hear Shiro stuttering from beside him; his face just as red as his younger brother's. The young dragon slayer plunged his fist into Happy's head causing the poor cat to lose concentration and flop to the ground.

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT IDEA, YOU STUPID CAT?!"

"Ah!" Happy fake sobbed as he clung to Niall's pant leg, "Save me Niall! Shiro is just as scary and mean as Erza and Lucy!"

Niall chuckled at the fuming look on Shiro's face before staring down at the overdramatic Happy,

"Well you should know better than to tease him now shouldn't you?"

Before the Exceed could answer, a chilly wind swept around the two young mages. Niall stared up at the once sunny sky and noticed the dark clouds that now shadowed the sky. A very bad feeling started to settle into the pit of the young ice mage's stomach and he didn't like it one bit. He glanced over at Shiro and he could see the same unease that he was currently feeling. He didn't react when the pinkette latched onto his hand and they both started to run down the road. Happy was flying beside them with a confused look on his face,

"Why are we running?"

Niall saw Shiro's jaw clench tensely,

"Something isn't right; we need to get out of here as fast as we can."

Lightning cracked across the sky followed by a boom of thunder; the brothers tried to quicken their pace only to notice that there were four people standing in the middle of the road; almost creating a sort of road block. The sky had grown so dark, that the twins were unable to see their faces. Niall and Shiro stopped running and stared at the strangers blocking their path; darkness and malice was radiating off them menacingly.

"Now," One of the strangers stepped forward, "Why would we let you do that?"

Niall pressed himself closer to his older brother out of instinct,

"Who are you?"

The stranger who spoke previously tilted his head to the side as if he were contemplating his answer,

"I guess you could say we are the nothing to your everything."

The raven stared at the stranger blankly and he was pretty sure Toshiro was doing the same thing. He didn't know what the hell that man was talking about, but he didn't like the ominous hatred and bloodlust pulsating around the man; it reminded him too much of Sellon Gerard of the Annihilation squad. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Shiro's hand heating up his own. Niall could sense that his pink haired brother wanted to beat the man and his followers into a pulp so that they could get home; they had to get somewhere safe and fast.

"What are you talking about?" Shiro growled impatiently, "Don't talk in riddles old man!"

"Old man?" The stranger inquired hurtfully, "And I thought I looked young for my age."

Niall clicked his tongue and released Shiro's hand so that they could call upon their magic and make an escape. The raven could the familiar cold gathering in his hands and the immense heat of Shiro flickering and flaring beside him. He glanced up at Happy out of the corner of his eye and he could see the cat hovering in the air; a determined expression on his face.

"C'mon boys," The stranger stated in disappointment, "I don't want to hurt you…"

"Bullshit!" Shiro hissed, "If you didn't then you would've let us pass!"

The stranger sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose,

"I already told you, we're the nothing to your everything; we need you, so you can't leave."

"What the hell does that even mean?!"

Lightning struck across the sky once more faintly illuminating the dusty road. In that moment, the man had run so that he was now standing in front of them; his ruby eyes staring down at him darkly.

"It's obvious," The stranger smirked, "We want the Core of Magic."

FTFTFT

The guild was in an uproar as always; luckily tables weren't flying through the air…yet. Cana was sitting at her usual table, her signature barrel resting between her legs as she took a break from chugging her alcohol. The brunette mage was laughing loudly as she bugged Elfman and Evergreen about their 'secret relationship' that everybody knew about. The stone mage was denying in profusely while the takeover mage was red in the face and looked as if he wanted to be turned to stone. Mira was watching the scene unravel with a mysteriously devious smile that resembled that of her Satan Soul on her lips; it was obvious that the matchmaker was officially in business.

'Fairy Tail's Strongest Team' was sitting at their usual spot in the guild as well; their full table making most of the noise in the guild. Even though Natsu had just recently got up to go talk to the Master, it was like he had never left. Erza was talking amicably with Lucy as she stuffed her face with strawberry cake; her cheeks reddened from either happiness from her cake or the man sitting beside her. Jellal's dark hazel eyes were watching the red haired requip mage with a softness only he would show her. His arm rested comfortably around the small over back as he tried to follow the conversation going on between his long-time girlfriend and Lucy; who was apparently mad at her husband Loke for doing something stupid; not much of a surprise. Gajeel and Levy were talking to each other at the corner of the table, well Levy was talking, about their anniversary which was right around the corner. Although the stoic iron dragon slayer seemed disinterested, everyone knew better.

Gray, however, stared blankly at the guild doors as his fingers subconsciously tapped on the surface of the wooden table he was sitting at. He was aware of Lucy, Erza and the others talking around him but he couldn't get himself to pay too much attention. It was now the afternoon of the second day of Niall and Toshiro's first solo mission and he couldn't deny the fact that he was nervous. Ever since the day he and Natsu decided to let the boys go, a sense of foreboding seemed to follow him around no matter what he did; he couldn't help but think that he and Natsu had made a huge mistake.

"Gray?"

The raven's head snapped away from the door and turned towards the cold hand that was now resting on his shoulder. Despite the unease he was feeling, he couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face; he would probably never get used to seeing Lyon hanging around the guild hall. After the fall of Sellon Gerard the silverette had told him that when Lucy and Jellal freed him from the Iced Shell, his magic didn't come with him; he had used it all up to create the spell.

Obviously the raven had immediately tapped into the core and gave Lyon his ice magic back; although Lyon did smack him over the head for being an idiot afterwards. Lyon had returned to Lamia Scale for a short time to tell his old guild mates that he was alive once more, but he surprisingly returned to Fairy Tail. Lyon told everyone that he just wanted to be with his 'Juvia-chan', but Gray knew that it was because his older brother wanted to keep a better eye on him.

What an idiot.

"Hey Lyon," He squeezed the hand on his shoulder, "What's up?"

The older ice mage tilted his head to the side teasingly,

"I could ask you the same; you've been staring at the guild doors so long I thought that they would explode from the intensity."

Gray rolled his eyes before elbowing Lyon in the stomach. The silverette chuckled, though it sounded more like a gasp, and ruffled Gray's raven hair playfully. The younger ice mage scowled and swatted at the offending appendages when he felt someone sit beside him and a warm arm wrapped around his bare waist tightly.

"They're going to be fine love," Natsu whispered into his ear, "You have nothing to worry about."

The raven opened his mouth to tell the pink haired idiot that he wasn't worrying when a shock of pain shot down his spine and nearly sent him tumbling out of his chair. He could hear Natsu and the others shouting at him, but it was like he wasn't there. All he could feel was the sharp pain and the sound of crying. He tried to glance around himself, but it was like he couldn't move; no matter what he tried.

_Give them back! Give my parents back!_

_Don't take them away!_

_Where did they go? Why did they leave me behind?!_

Gray shot forwards, his eyes wide and his breath escaping him in gasps; it was so many voices…so many voices. He didn't know whose they were, but he knew that he had to help them. He didn't want to hear them crying anymore whoever they were. If he had ever heard Niall and Shiro crying out like that he would destroy the person who dared to hurt them in a heartbeat. The core bearer was pulled out of rambled thoughts by Natsu's hands resting on his cheeks; the onyx eyes wide and fearful.

He tried to open his mouth to reassure his mate that he was alright, but it was if his voice had given out. His stomach was churning like a boat on the sea; if it kept up the way it was, he was definitely going to throw up. And those voices, the young children's voices just continued to get louder and louder. It was if they were standing right beside him, shouting into his ear as if their very lives depended on it. He didn't know why, but it felt like his head was going to split open from the noise; he hasn't heard anything like this in his entire life…

Suddenly, intense heat struck against his cheek immediately wrenching him from whatever state he was locked in. Gray glanced around the guild and noticed that it had gone completely silent and the guild's worried eyes were set solely on him. He could feel his old anxiety rearing its ugly head, but was instantly grounded by Natsu's teary onyx eyes staring frightfully into his blue. He raised a shaky hand and rested it on the pinkette's cheek and ran his thumb over the warm cheekbone just as a tear fell from the cage of his dark lashes.

"A-Are you with me now?" The dragon slayer whispered.

"Yeah…" Gray nodded faintly, "Wh-What happened?"

The raven jumped slightly when a hand squeezed his bare shoulder. He turned his head to see Lyon lingering in the background; his face pale and his lips drawn into a thin line.

"We don't know… you just started screaming…"

"I…" He swallowed as he finally noticed the rawness of his throat, "I heard children screaming…it hurt so much…"

_PAPA!_

Gray nearly fell out of his chair once more and would have if it weren't for Natsu practically hugging him to his chest. He tried to climb out of his mate's grasp and run towards the guild doors in one go, but the strong, tanned arms kept him firmly in place. Electricity started to crackle ominously through the air as a cold wind rushed through the guild sending shivers down all the wizards' spines.

"Gray, calm down," Natsu held him tightly, "What's wrong?"

"Niall…Toshiro…" He hissed fearfully, "They're calling me!"

Just as Natsu's eyes widened in comprehension and he had released the ice mage's waist, the guild hall doors (along with the entire front of the building) exploded inwards and sent many mages who were standing too close flying. Gray hastily brought his hands together in quick motions as carnage and debris started rocket towards the rest of the guild hall. Before a particularly large support beam reached the stunned Titania and Jellal a huge wall of ice erupted from the ground and protected the rest of the guild.

He thought they were safe for the time being when a shockwave billowed from the other side of the ice and struck the wall repeatedly. The force of the wave hitting his creation was pushing Gray back bit by bit and it was obvious by the sweat that was mingling on his brow that he wouldn't be able to keep the wall up too much longer. With one final push of the shockwave, the wall shattered sending the ice mage backwards and into Natsu's chest where the dragon slayer held him upright.

As ice and snow rained around the demolished guild hall intermittently with the dust the mages of Fairy Tail waited for the attackers to become known. Gray could feel Natsu growling rumbling through his own back and he was pretty sure if he were to tear his eyes from the front of the guild hall he would be able to see the familiar scales of Natsu's dragon force decorating his face, arms and legs.

"Funny," A deep voice rumbled in amusement, "Not many would be able to withstand my spell like that."

Gray's eyes narrowed as the dust began to dissipate and reveal the silhouettes of four people; three men and a woman. The man who had just spoken stepped forward; a powerful aura radiating off of him with every step he took. The raven couldn't help but compare this man's terrifying power to that of Hades and judging from Natsu's tense body behind him he thought the same. The man's greyed raven hair fell in long waves down his shoulders and down to the middle of his back. His silver coloured eyes were calculative and seemed to roam the members of Fairy Tail before landing on Gray.

"However," The man smirked, "That would be expected of the fabled Core of Magic would it not Gray Fullbuster."

The raven flinched as if he had been slapped and had nearly taken a step back. He hadn't used the Core many years; the last time he used it was the fight against Sellon Gerard. He felt the warm arms untangle from his body only to be replaced with a cold hand on his forearm. Natsu stepped out in front of him and stared at the intruder darkly. He reached out to pull his mate back only to have Lyon pull him closer to the silverette's body.

"Who the hell are you?" Natsu hissed angrily.

The man's silver eyes almost laughed as his gaze landed on Natsu,

"Ah, if it isn't the Salamander of Fairy Tail; not the first dragon slayer I've met, but you'll probably be the last if everything works out."

Intense orange flames erupted onto Natsu's hands as his dragon instinct began to take over everything else,

"Answer my question!"

"Maa, maa," The woman, no, thirteen year old girl, stepped forward and pulled on the man's cloak, "Maybe you should answer him Khaos-sama or he won't be as much fun."

The silver eyed man, now known as Khaos, chuckled light heartedly and ruffled the small girl's short green hair playfully,

"I guess it would be for the best now wouldn't it… Fairy Tail, where is your master?"

Gray could sense Natsu getting angrier and angrier due to the fact that he was being blatantly ignored. The raven pulled himself out of Lyon's grip and latched onto the back of Natsu's black vest. The pinkette's back muscles rippled from the tightness that was overlying his body, but relaxed when he felt Gray's cold fingers brushing against the small of his back. The pinkette calmed and reached out for his ice mage and wrapped their fingers together.

"I regret to inform you that Master Laxus has stepped out for a few moments," Natsu spat through clenched teeth, "So you'll have to answer to us."

"Laxus?" Khaos tutted, "What happened to Makarov Dreyar? I was so hoping to meet the third master of Fairy Tail who is held in as much regards as the first master Mavis."

Gray clenched his fists at his sides as sadness seemed to sweep through the hall,

"Master Makarov passed on a couple years ago."

The silver eyed man clicked his tongue,

"How disappointing, I was hoping for some sort of a challenge."

"Don't you dare underestimate Fairy Tail," Erza growled angrily as she requipped into her Knight armour, "You'll find that you'll quickly regret it."

Sarcastic clapping sounded through the air causing everyone's eyes to land on a man with dark purple hair. He was younger than Khaos, but probably still older than most of the members of the guild. His pale face lacked any type of emotion and his lips were pulled into a disinterested line. Like Khaos, the man seemed to have power radiating off him; it was almost suffocating. Gray shivered as he stared into the man's golden eyes; he couldn't help but feel something very familiar about them.

"The Great Titania Erza; Queen of the Fairies," The man stated dully, "I would hold your tongue if I were you; it would be best that you don't get involved, especially if you treasure your life."

Erza's eyes glinted dangerously as she raised her sword,

"What do you want with Fairy Tail?"

Khaos laughed jovially,

"You got it all wrong Miss Erza; we want nothing with Fairy Tail… we just want Gray Fullbuster and the Core he bears."

"Over my dead body!" Natsu roared furiously.

The purple haired man turned towards the dragon slayer,

"That's usually what tends to happen; all you slayers are the same, it's getting quite bothersome."

Gray felt a sharp chill travel down his spine at those words; it stirred something at the back of his mind. For some reason it made him think of blonde hair, blue eyes and a fake smile. He clutched his hand around Natsu's even tighter when the dragon slayer's hands started to ignite once more. The raven applied some of his ice magic to Natsu's body to cool him down slightly so he wouldn't burn an unwanted hole into the guild hall; however, he didn't know how much his magic would help at this point.

"Now, now Tartarus," Khaos admonished, "Don't give them too many hints."

_Papa, run…_

The raven's eyes widened as his children's voices resounded through him once more. How did they know what was happening and why were they tell him…Gray's eyes snapped over to the intruders once more and he glanced around the place where they were positioned. He scanned the area searching for anything, when he noticed a strange distortion of the air behind that Tartarus asshole. His eyes wandered over the stoic, golden eyed man and immediately realized why his magic seemed so familiar.

Gray squeezed Natsu's hand tightly as anger started to course through him. He huffed through his nose, closed his eyes and tapped into the fire element of his Core; he let it engulf his body and join his fire dragon slayer's causing the heat of the guild to escalate quickly. Gray pushed back the pain and focused on raising the heat more and more; he had to break through it…he had to break through the illusion. Gasps and cries of outrage filled his ears causing his eyes to snap open and pure unadulterated fear and anger to overwhelm him. Behind Tartarus lay Happy, Niall and Shiro, both bloody and barely conscious; their deep blue eyes showing fear, hatred and worry.

"How dare you hurt my sons!" Gray roared, "I'm going to kill you!"

Khaos' smile dropped off his face as he raised an eyebrow,

"Why is that Gray Fullbuster? It's your fault for reproducing while having the Core of Magic; if you didn't have these lovely boys, the Protogenoi Guild probably wouldn't have found you…as it is we are already late."

"Don't you think you can get away with this," Natsu growled as he pulled his hand out of Gray's, "You're going to pay for what you've done!"

Khaos' silver eyes narrowed dangerously,

"I'd like to see you try dragon slayer, especially since your fate has been decided ever since the day you mated yourself to the Core of Magic! Alright Master Eros, it's your turn; sorry to keep you waiting."

The fourth and final member of the so-called Protogenoi Guild stepped forward and lowered his head. Gray and the rest of Fairy Tail stared at him in disbelief; he looked no older than Niall and Shiro…yet they referred to him as the MASTER. The boy's silver hair blew in a non-existent wind as his amethyst eyes swept over the members of Fairy Tail as Khaos had done before. Eros glanced back at Niall and Shiro before glancing at Natsu and Gray.

"Ironic," Eros whispered, "Ironic how even though these two brats refused to give us their last name and the name of their parents when all we had to do was ask around Magnolia; you Dragneels seem to resemble each other so much…let's see how much time it would take to make the resemblance even better, shall we?"

Suddenly, magic exploded from underneath Eros' feet creating a shockwave so large that every single one of the Fairy Tail members were pushed back. Gray very nearly doubled over from the sharp pain that emanated from his Core of Magic as the shockwave touched him. He could feel the elemental magic struggling to break free in order to protect everyone. But he knew he couldn't risk it; it's been so long since he used it he couldn't afford the risk of passing out. The raven stared at the silver haired boy and found his body frozen as his amethyst gaze penetrated him.

"Energy Make: Retrograde."

A bright light engulfed the guild hall; Gray forced his eyes shut out of fear that the bright light would actually turn them to cinders. He reached out blindly for Natsu's warm hand only to find that it seemed smaller than what he was used to. Before he could contemplate it, the light dissipated and he was looking around the guild in confusion. Gray turned to look at the other members of the guild to see if they were alright only to see them staring at him with wide disbelieving eyes.

"Gray, Natsu…" Lucy gasped, her brown eyes wide, "You're…"

"I believe you should thank me Core Bearer and Fire Dragon Slayer," Eros announced drawing Gray's attention to him, "I just shaved ten years off your lives."

TBC

**Hey Minna! What's with me and writing long chapters lately?! This is actually insane, I never used to make my chapters this long lol. This chapter might seem a little confusing (I hope it isn't), but I hope you enjoyed it! Don't worry, the other characters will get face time trust me! If you're curious, Natsu was 33 years old and Gray was 32 years old when this story started, but thanks to Eros they are now 23 and 22 respectively (so about a year after the twins were born!) I bet you were wondering what the point of that was right? And you're probably wondering about Gray's dreams and the children's voices he was hearing; don't worry he's not going crazy… there's a good reason why he could hear them! Stay tuned so you can find out! XD Waiting for your awesome reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. Manga spoiler **Poor Fairy Tail Guild got destroyed again :( but looks like our favourite family is finally ready to fight back! Can't wait! **

_**Answers to Reviews! **_

_**JustAFri3nd: I'm so happy that you're excited for this installment ;) I am too! Here's your new chapter! And you're right! It was Lovely KuroFai from Tsubasa Chronicles! I send you a virtual Happy cookie! **_

_**Rewinsan: I already sent you a PM to answer this lol but I also put it in the A/N above :P Lol a movie series could probably be made from these…would you watch it?!**_

_**Guest: Nope! It wasn't Vampire Knight, though I did consider it for one of my pairing choices! (I'm in love with KanamexZero lol) and I'm happy that you liked my idea to add extra pairings (I honestly was worried about that…) Here's a new chapter!**_

_** .oO: You'll find out the meaning soon enough! ;)**_

_**Guest: Shiro and Niall are Natsu and Gray's biological children; I advise that you read "Road to Happiness" because that would definitely answer any questions that come up for this story! :)**_

_**Koori Shirayuki: Here's a new chapter for you! And you get a virtual Happy cookie for guessing correctly! I just love KuroFai 3 just couldn't resist the temptation! **_

_**Guest: Here you go! Enjoy!**_

_**gratsylover117: I'm glad that you're happy I continued the series! I hope that this new installment meets your expectations! And I'm also happy that you like the idea of my extra pairings :) hopefully we like some of the same pairings so that it's enjoyable for you! **_


	3. Chapter 3 - Cyclical Motions

**Disclaimer: Mashima-dono owns Fairy Tail minna! **

**Warnings: Yaoi, Language, Violence**

Toshiro squeezed Niall's hand tightly as Happy rested on their laps; judging by the reactions of his parents and the other guild members they hadn't realized that they were also in the room. They had tried to contact their father earlier, but something seemed to be getting in the way; something much stronger. His deep blue eyes wandered over to the smallest cloaked figure and tried to suppress a shiver when he felt the magnitude of magical power rolling off his form. He was willing to bet that that person had something to do with why they weren't able to contact their Papa. Hell, if they didn't even get captured in the first place they wouldn't be in this mess; if only he was stronger…

Suddenly, felt something tug on his hand; he turned his head and found himself looking into the concerned eyes of his brother. Niall's face was cut up in places and blood had yet to stop flowing in some areas, but otherwise he seemed alright. Toshiro squeezed his hand as a form of comfort only to have Niall shake his head back and forth and tilt his head forward a little. The pinkette looked towards the direction he was indicating and noticed that his parents were standing right in front of them only a few feet away; their Papa should be able to hear them now, no matter what tried to interfere with them.

The young mages carefully lifted Happy off their laps and placed him on the ground beside them. Niall gently ran his fingers over the cat's ears as Shiro did the same along his back. The pinkette nodded his head resolutely as they clasped hands and laced their fingers together tightly. He watched as his younger brother's eyes slipped closed before shutting his own and locating his inner plain; the place where his half of the Core of Magic resided. The plain was filled with lush green grass and the sun held high in the sky although lightning struck intermittently as a metallic thunder echoed around him. A rush of wind blew through his mindscape immediately connecting it with the frosty, oceanic, earth-like plain of his twin brother…

_Papa, run!_

Keeping their hands interlocked, Toshiro opened his eyes in time to see a dark rage overcome his Papa's face. He almost smiled when he felt the air surrounding the guild hall heat up even more; he and Niall immediately knew that Papa had combined the Fire element of his Core with that of his Dad's dragon slaying magic. The twins slowly released each other's hands as exhaustion swept over them. The pinkette glanced over at his family only to see that their magic was combining at cataclysmic heights; their Papa and Dad standing right in the middle of it.

"How dare you hurt my sons?!" Papa roared; his ice magic swirling dangerously in the palm of his hands, "I'm going to kill you!"

Toshiro watched as the oldest captor's, Khaos he thought his name was, smile dropped off his face,

"Why is that Gray Fullbuster? It's your fault for reproducing while having the Core of Magic; if you didn't have these lovely boys, the Protogenoi Guild probably wouldn't have found you… as it is, we're already late."

The young pinkette flinched slightly as the words slipped out of the arrogant old geezer's mouth. He didn't even want to imagine what was going through his Papa's head, let alone his Dad's. Even though he and Niall were only twelve, they knew that their Papa had suffered a lot in his life and felt that he was at fault for most of it…if he thought that he was the reason why he and Niall were hurt…

"Don't you think you can get away with this," Dad growled dangerously; immediately ripping Toshiro from his thoughts, "You're going to pay for what you have done!"

As Khaos' silver eyes narrowed, Toshiro was able to catch a familiar glimpse of red taking root; for the first time in his life, he was worried for his father…

"I'd like to see you try dragon slayer, especially since your fate has been decided ever since you mated yourself to the Core of Magic! Alright Master Eros, it's your turn; sorry to keep you waiting."

The pinkette felt his eyes widening in disbelief as the smallest boy stepped forward and lowered his hood. He was aware of Niall shaking at his side; his fear was nearly as palpable as his own. There was absolutely no way that this _kid_, who looked no older than himself, could be the master of this guild. Judging by the reactions of his other family members, they were all thinking along the same lines. Niall's hand tightened on his arm slightly as the boy started to speak; even his words seemed to hold power.

"Ironic…" He whispered, "Ironic how even though these two brats refused to give us their last name and the name of their parents when all we had to do was ask around Magnolia; you Dragneels seem to resemble each other so much… let's see how much time it would take to make the resemblances even better, shall we?"

He subconsciously held onto his brother tighter and pulled Happy closer as a shockwave shot out from underneath Eros' feet and nearly sent them flying backwards. Toshiro watched the so-called Master of the Protogenoi guild and noticed that his heated gaze was focused solely on his Papa. The pinkette could easily feel his Papa's growing unease as the silverette's power continued to grow and grow…

"Energy Make: Retrograde."

Toshiro struggled to keep his eyes open as a bright light erupted from one of their captors and swallowed the majority of the guild hall. He was aware of Niall and Happy huddling next to him, but his sole attention was on the other members of Fairy Tail; most importantly their parents. There had to be a reason why the assholes who attacked them didn't use their Core of Magic; something about their Papa's core had to be important to them in some way. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Niall pitch forward slightly and quickly wrapped his arm around his younger brother's waist to keep him steady. The raven's exhausted deep blue eyes looked at him thankfully and gently squeezed the fingers of the hand that was on his waist. Toshiro nodded his head lightly in acknowledgement just as the bright light finally cleared from his vision.

He stared at his family members searching for any sign of bloodshed or an attack, but there was none; everyone looked exactly the way they did before Eros had casted his magic. He glanced over at his captors and noticed that each and every one of them had sated smile on their face…even the creepy emotionless guy did. A loud gasp caused his head to turn towards his family once more only to see that they were all staring at his parents. Toshiro felt the blood rush from his cheeks as he realized what everyone was looking at, he also felt Niall tense from beside him.

"Gray, Natsu…" Aunty Lucy gasped as she covered her mouth, "You're…"

"I believe you should thank me Core bearer and Dragon slayer," Eros smirked, "I just shaved ten years off your lives."

The young fire mage couldn't peel his eyes from his parents; he never thought that ten years could change a person too much, but now… He noticed his Papa staring intently at his hands and he immediately knew why; the scars that he had acquired from his battle with Gerard had disappeared…it was like they had never existed in the first place. Toshiro could tell that his Dad looked different too; not only younger, but his entire demeanor was different.

"T-Ten years?" Aunty Erza hissed at the dark mages, "What is your purpose for doing that?!"

Eros smiled brightly before bowing down mockingly to Erza,

"Well you see Miss. Titania, if Gray Fullbuster were to stay at his prior age it would make things more difficult for us; you see the Core wouldn't react in the way we would want it too."

Toshiro nearly flinched back as his father's onyx eyes narrowed,

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

The green haired girl jumped forward and bent at the waist with her hands on her hips. Her bright green eyes shining with false innocence; but at the same time, Toshiro could tell that she was different from the other members of the dark guild. Her magic didn't seem as _dark_ as the others; it seemed more tame and full of life…

"Now, now Natsu-kun," She chirped, "It would ruin the fun if we told you the plan too early!"

Khaos smiled sickeningly and inclined his head,

"However, Gray Fullbuster would be able to give you a hint as to why Master Eros made him younger if he remembered what happened the year after our young Cores of Magic over here were born."

Toshiro noticed the colour drain from his Papa's face as the words left Khaos' mouth. He had moved closer to their Dad who immediately wrapped his arm protectively around him. He glanced over at Niall, but of course he was just as confused as everyone else. Yes, he was the one to live with their Papa but if something happened a year after they were born, there was no way that Niall would be able to remember any of it. A noise that almost sounded like a huff of impatience caused everyone to turn towards the purple haired illusion mage. His golden eyes were still emotionless, but the small quirk of the corner of his lips was able to betray him.

"What's the matter?" Tartarus stated monotonously, "Too afraid to tell them that you almost destroyed an entire village because your Core went out of control?"

Their Papa flinched as if he had been struck and clenched his fists at his sides. Their Dad growled furiously and was about to dash forward when Papa's hand grasped his forearm tightly. The small pinkette could see the conflict in his father's eyes; he knew that his Dad wanted to beat the snot out of these assholes, but he wouldn't do anything that made Papa upset…especially if what Tartarus had said was true. No one said anything for a moment as the illusion mage's words slowly started to sink in. Toshiro's eyes wandered over to the green haired girl and noticed a faded bright green circle starting to form beneath her feet. His deep blue eyes widened desperately as he removed his arms from his younger brother and hastily started casting his own magic.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Instantaneously, a beam of flames erupted from his mouth and rocketed towards the exposed back of the green haired mage. The flames were so close to her that smell of burned cloth reached everyone's noses when suddenly, Khaos was standing in between the girl and the flames; his right hand pushed out to the side. Toshiro flinched as his flames were extinguished and Khaos' now angered red eyes stared at him darkly.

"Gaea, what have I told you about watching your back?"

The girl turned towards Khaos with a guilty look on her face,

"To make sure I destroy any possible threats before going for the big fish."

The older man sighed before raising his left hand towards the bruised and beaten twelve year old sitting on his knees in front of him. Toshiro forced Niall behind him as dark particles started to gather in the palm of Khaos' hand. The small pinkette recognized this attack from when he and his brother were attacked at the side of the road. Khaos smirked darkly as he pushed his palm forward and the black mass that had gathered in his hand immediately transformed into intense orange flames.

"We no longer have any use for you," Khaos cackled, "See you in Hell little one."

Toshiro felt tears prickle at the corner of his eyes, but he pushed them back. He turned his body around and jumped on top of Niall and held him protectively. He could feel Niall pushing at him and he was aware of him yelling at him and telling him to move; but no matter what he wasn't going to move a muscle. As long as Niall survived, everything would be okay…

"Ice Make: Rampart!"

FTFTFTFT

Gray stood protectively in front of his sons not a moment too soon as the huge ice wall sprung up from the ground just as Khaos' counterattack to Toshiro's magic hit it. The raven was pushed back slightly from the impact, but forced himself to remain strong. He felt the cold sweat dripping down the back of his neck; it was amazing how much his stamina was affected when he was aged back ten years. Explosions started to erupt from the other side of the rampart notifying him that the other members of Fairy Tail had joined the fray as soon as they knew that Gray and the boys were safe.

"Niall, Shiro," He turned towards the crumpled forms of his children, "Are you guys alright?"

Twin deep blue eyes stared up at him in disbelief and nodded their heads exhaustedly. Gray wanted nothing more than to go over to them and scoop them up, but he knew that he had to stay focused. His heart pounded heavily in his chest as he tried to focus all his will power on reigning in fluctuating Core of Magic that resided within him. As soon as his body and mind realized that he was younger, the core had started to act up just as Tartarus and Khaos had predicted.

He didn't want to remember that day any more than he wanted to remember the other moments in his life, but if he couldn't figure out a way to control the Core anything could happen. He was aware of his family watching him carefully; he knew that they weren't afraid of him…but they did know how volatile the Core could be; especially Natsu.

"Papa," Niall coughed, "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm going to be just fine," He smiled at them reassuringly, "But I need you guys to go somewhere and hide until it's safe to come out; can you do that for me?"

Shiro shook his head back and forth frantically,

"We can't leave you alone!"

The older raven sighed and had to suppress the urge to shake his head back and forth in exasperation. Really, the young fire mage was too much like his father; from his looks down to his bullheaded personality. However, he knew that if he were to look at Niall he would see the same defiance and reluctance in his deep blue eyes as well. They truly were members of Fairy Tail, just as they were truly the mirrors of Natsu and himself. Suddenly something struck his rampart once more; this time succeeding in making it crack in places. Gray's hands shook as he focused his magic in the solid ice wall.

"You're not leaving me alone," Gray hissed out through clenched teeth, "Dad, your aunties and uncles, they're here to help me too; you're too hurt right now to keep on fighting."

"But Papa…" Shiro whispered.

"Don't worry, either of you, everything is going to be…"

His sentence was cut off when his rampart exploded into a million tiny pieces and sent him flying backwards. He back tucked in the air and landed shakily on his toes in front of his sons as the remnants of his ice magic started to gather and replenish itself. Gray stood protectively in front of Toshiro and Niall so that they were practically hidden from the view of the boy heading towards him. It was if he was unaware of the battle going on around him; Eros was just walking through the debris as if he would in a grassy field.

"Stay away," Gray growled as he brought his palms together and the air pressure started to drop exponentially, "Stay away from my sons."

Eros tilted his head to the side almost mockingly as he stood in front of Gray. His arms were dangling limply at his sides; his amethyst eyes sparking and flaring like a raging electrical storm. Eros moved to take another step forward prompting the ice mage to take two steps back. He was aware of his sons clutching onto him tightly; their fear almost as clear as the oxygen they breathe. The master closed his eyes and sighed in boredom,

"Really Gray Fullbuster; what's the point in fighting for something that you're inevitably going to lose? All you Core bearers are the same with that false hope and the fear of killing their loved ones; that's why you're all so easy to _break_."

"Papa…" Niall whimpered.

The older ice mage ruffled the top of his son's head, but never kept his eyes off the mage standing in front of him. Eros seemed to stare at Shiro and Niall for a moment before a dark smile spread across his pale face,

"It's funny how the very first male Core of Magic had a twin brother and the last bearers are twins; it's almost cyclic in a way…as if this was meant to happen."

Once again, Gray found himself remembering the man with blonde hair and blue eyes; the man from his dreams. He glared at the dark mage as if his very gaze would send the man to a fiery grave when the silverette suddenly raised his hands a silverish-black casting circle appeared from under his feet. As Eros' eyes started to glow an eerie purple, Gray's core started to fluctuate within him with even more ferocity. Gray fell to his knees as pure agony ripped through him; he couldn't help but compare it to when the Core had tried to kill Toshiro and Niall before they were born.

"PAPA!" Toshiro and Niall screamed and reached out to him.

"NO!" Gray hissed sternly, "Don't touch me and don't touch each other…do you understand?!"

"Hm," Eros clicked his tongue, "You're more determined than the other's I'll give you that; however, you'll never be strong enough to beat me Gray Fullbuster even if you are the last elemental Key."

Gray stared up at the silverette in confusion,

"K-Key?"

Eros seemed to grimace,

"It seems that I have said too much…oh well, it's not like you'll be awake long enough to remember anyway."

Before Gray could even comprehend what was happening, Eros snapped his fingers and everything went silent. Suddenly, a loud and harsh scream was torn from Gray's throat as the Core of Magic exploded out of him; the different magics compressing upon each other and upon his psyche. He was aware of his sons crying from somewhere beside him and the angry shouts of his family members, but the pain was becoming immeasurable. Without his permission, his eyes started to close and something started to tug at the corner of his mind, but he was too weak to answer it. For the first time in a long time he felt empty…

"GRAY!"

And this time… he wasn't sure if he would return…

TBC

**Yo! Here's another chapter for you guys! I don't know how I feel about it yet, but I hope that you guys enjoy it. I know that the beginning pages were annoyingly repetitive of the last chapter, but I was hoping it would be alright because it was the POV of one of the twins. More questions are brought to light in this chapter and I'm pretty sure you guys want to know what's going on, but you're gonna have to wait for later chapters so I hope you stick with this story! I'm waiting for your reviews :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. Spoiler Alert: Okay last chapter of Fairy Tail was pretty damn awesome; you know Gray appears and unintentionally save Lucy and Wendy's asses and then the villain says "You're Silver's…" AND IT ENDS THE SCENE WITH GRAY THERE! HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO ME MASHIMA-SENSEI?! YOU TOTALLY RUINED MY MOMENT! NOW I HAVE TO WAIT EVEN LONGER DAMNIT! (rant complete).**

_**Answers to Reviews!**_

_**Only three reviews this time around, but that's okay! People are busy after all!**_

_**gratsulover117: I'm so happy this is meeting your expectations! I'm sorry for the really late update, but I hope you like this chapter! This chapter told you why he shaved off ten years (vaguely mind you, but I'm sure you get it!), but you'll have to wait for later chapters to answer your other questions! :)**_

_**nazurath92: Yay! I'm happy you're excited! I hope this chapter didn't disappoint! And I give you a million hugs for all your reviews for all my stories that you reviewed over the past couple weeks; they all brought smiles to my face and I really appreciate your support!**_

_**mooney-996: I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU MADE IT TO THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT! I can't believe you actually managed to read all four of these stories as well as my other stories over the course of like 2 weeks (I'm impressed!) Thank you for your support it really means a lot to me and I'm happy that you were hooked so quickly! Enjoy this chapter!**_


	4. Chapter 4 - They're HOW Old

**Disclaimer: Mashima-dono owns Fairy Tail! And the characters mentioned in the Italics section don't belong to me either!**

**Warnings: Yaoi, Language, Violence**

_He was never able to leave his frame._

_No matter what he did or tried to do, he was never good enough; he was the third son, the fourth born…the murderer. He was always told that he would never surpass his older brothers; even if he were to become one of the most renowned mages in Fiore, his older brothers had already done it. His father was part of the Magic Council and one of the Ten Wizard Saints while his oldest brother was one of the most credibly known healers and his second oldest brother was one of the best combat mages. The only person who felt the need to acknowledge him was his older sister, but even she tended to distance herself from him from time to time; he was sure that that was because of their father. _

_He understood why his father detested him so much, why he felt the need to treat him like something that wasn't worthy of his presence. Despite the fact that his mother was able to bear three perfectly healthy __**normal**__ children, her fourth born was the one who had taken on her curse. She had died immediately after giving birth to him and that was because out of all her children, the Core of Magic decided that he was the most fit to possess it. Yes, he was different from his siblings…he stood out from them with his lean features and his strange magic; the power of manipulating any type metal…magic that did not run through the veins of his family members. _

_He was an anomaly, therefore he had to act as normal as he possibly could in order to make his family happy. Although the Core would not activate until he came of age, they knew that it was existed and that was a good enough excuse for his father; a good enough excuse to guilt his own son and force him to do whatever he pleased. All he wanted was to be accepted…he wanted to be understood…he wanted to escape his frame and he knew that that wouldn't be possible if he stayed with his father and siblings; he knew that he had to leave._

_And that's how he found it… The Blue Pegasus Guild._

_It was a relatively new guild in the area and the mages tended to be a little __**eccentric**__, but something about it seemed to just draw him in. He had to have been staring at the doors for hours before he finally wrapped his hand around the door handle and slowly pulled it open. The door seemed to open in slow motion as the red flower petals seemed to float out of the building gracefully. When all the petals had fallen to the ground, he was able to see into the guild hall…and all he saw were good looking people; not an ugly person in sight. _

_As he stood in the doorway, his mouth hanging open just a little, everyone had stopped talking and turned to stare at him. He couldn't help but feel the need to apologize to them for his intrusion and then run away as fast as he could; however, that was quickly smothered by his pride. He walked into the guild with his head held high and didn't turn away if anyone stared at him; he had to show them that he wasn't intimidated. _

"_Who are you cutie?"_

_A shudder seemed to travel down his spine from the somewhat strained voice and he stopped walking. He turned on his heel to address the person who had talked to him only to see a very masculine woman with shoulder length red hair and auburn eyes…he was pretty sure that he could see stubble on her chin. _

"_Uh…"_

_The red haired man-woman chuckled jovially before waving away his stutter,_

"_No matter, my name is Master Ranka Fujioka and this…is the Blue Pegasus guild!"_

_He schooled expression into a mask of indifference and pushed his wire rimmed glasses further up his nose. The other members of the guild hall were still staring at him expectantly, but he still couldn't think of anything to say; what would his father say if he saw him right now?! Ranka seemed to pout when he didn't say anything, but he was pretty sure that he could detect a mischievous glint in the Master's eyes. _

"_Too shy?" Ranka chirped, "Maybe you'll feel more comfortable talking to someone else; Tama-chan are you here?!"_

_He didn't know it then, but as soon as that sentence left Ranka's mouth the Core Bearer's fate was decided. For when the first guild master of Blue Pegasus called that name, he was introduced to the most idiotic person in the history of Fiore; he met the Sound Dragon Slayer. And his magic certainly matched the slayer's personality; he was loud and extremely irritating to be around._

_The blonde haired teen was just a bundle of energy that either spazzed out dramatically, flirted shamelessly or spaced out frequently. As soon as he met him, the dragon slayer had latched onto his side and wouldn't let him out of his sight. It didn't take long for him to become acquainted with the dragon slayer's friends; the twin terrors who specialized in fire and water magic, the stoic seith mage and his lovable chocolate obsessed cousin who was a celestial mage…then there was the cat…a talking cat. However, he couldn't help but get along with him the most…or maybe her…he wasn't sure of the cat's disposition, but he found her to be the sanest of the bunch; although a tad cynical. _

_In a matter of time, he had found himself fitting into the strange atmosphere of Blue Pegasus; and found himself getting more and more attached to the dragon slayer and the others. He had revealed to them that he was a metal mage, but he hasn't told them about his curse. He didn't even want to imagine what they would do if they found out…he didn't want them to reject him like his family did. It's funny, even though he was no longer under the thumb of his father, he was still trapped in that frame… he was still faking. What was worse was that he was falling more and more for the blonde as the months and years passed. Despite this…he continued to push forward and smile for the light to his shadow…_

_Then __**she**__ came…_

_She exploded into their lives and almost ruined everything that he had tried to build; she tried to take away the dragon slayer…his dragon slayer and the blonde just went along with her without a fight. She just came in with her red hair and blue eyes and left with the blonde wrapped around her finger; clues about his past, that he was so desperate to learn, was used as leverage. And just like that, the blonde dragon slayer was going to leave them; he just couldn't let that happen…he couldn't let his light disappear._

_Without his light…he just wouldn't exist…his shadows would finally swallow him whole._

_For the first time in his life, he gathered his magic and gathered his strength so he could shatter that godforsaken frame he had trapped himself in. The threat of the sound dragon slayer leaving him was enough for him to realize that his father wasn't the one who put him in the frame, it was himself. Through the help of his new friends, especially the brown cat, they were able to succeed and bring their friend back home; he knew that the dragon slayer was more than his friend…so much more. However, he kept it to himself, mainly because of the blonde's inherent obliviousness, and continued to watch over the Light of the Blue Pegasus guild like the shadow he was._

_But he quickly learned that their happiness wouldn't last forever; his father would see to that. It was a normal day when the guards of the Magic Council burst through the guild hall doors with his father leading them; a condescending smirk etched on his pale face. He distinctly remembered shifting closer to the blonde slayer and he remembered the blonde doing the same to him. His father demanded that he return with him or else he would be shaming the family name. Part of him, the part that was still striving for his father's love and acceptance wanted to listen to him; but as he stared at his new family he couldn't help but come to the conclusion that he didn't need his father anymore…he now had a place where he was accepted for who he was. _

_His father didn't like that answer…_

_It turned out that for some time, a few months after his mother's death, his father had been corrupted by the magic of Zeref. Slowly, but surely, his mind was being swallowed by the dark magic of the most infamous wizard of the age. He knew that if he didn't do something soon, his father would destroy all the things he had dear…starting with the dragon slayer. He had even said as much when he first saw how close they were to each other. He had to dig deep within himself and finally unlock the seal that he had kept buried for all this time; he was going to accept his curse and set it free. _

_To say everyone was surprised was an understatement; after all, he never hinted to his fate as a Core Bearer. His body was strained from releasing the magic that he suppressed all that time and he had nearly lost his life expelling the taint of Zeref from his father's body. When he woke up in the infirmary to the dragon slayer's watery indigo gaze, he felt his chest constrict. He opened his mouth to apologize to the blonde (for the first time ever), when the blonde started spouting nonsense about soul mates, fear, pain and then finally love. He honestly couldn't follow the blonde's thought process when he was healthy half the time, how was he expected to follow it when he just woke up from unconsciousness. However, ten words stuck in his brain and nearly turned it into mush…_

"_I love you, so don't you ever do that again!"_

_He almost didn't believe what he was hearing and probably wouldn't have if the blonde hadn't kept repeating it over and over again with silvery tears clinging to his lashes. As the dragon slayer pulled him into his arms and he felt the pale nose nuzzling his dark locks he would have thought that he was dreaming the whole thing; it soon became apparent that he wasn't after he left the infirmary. He thought the dragon slayer was clingy before, it got worse when they finally got together and even worse when he became pregnant. _

_Yeah, he got pregnant because apparently that was possible. It defied ever law of physics, not that magic ever truly followed physics anyways, but at least he wasn't the only one. Being the ever studious mage he was, he found a tome about the Core of Magic and stumbled upon a passage about a mage centuries before by the name of Fai D. Flourite; the first male Core of Magic as well as the first male ever recorded to get pregnant. Of course his blonde ditz thought that was the coolest thing ever because they 'made history'; he honestly didn't find that as amazing._

_That all changed when he first laid eyes on her. _

_It was a little fuzzy, but he could distinctly remember a dark haired babe with astounding indigo eyes. She was a little small and pale, but she had this smile that seemed to light up the room. The next thing he knew the world was spinning and he was tumbling into the darkness when a sweet song seemed to drift through his consciousness. The song called out to his core in a way that made it warm up and swallow him with its power once more. When he opened his eyes, the dragon slayer's head was lying on his pillow with drying tear tracks trailing down his pale cheeks. It was at that moment he swore that he wouldn't cause his mate this much pain ever again. _

_And he was able to keep that promise, at least until Hana reached her fourth birthday; that's when they came and succeeded in ruining everything they had fought to save. No matter how hard they fought, he and his dragon slayer were taken from Hana. No matter how hard they fought, his dragon slayer was tortured and his Core was drained. No matter how hard they fought, his dragon slayer died and so did he. _

Gray's eyes snapped open, but he found that he was only able to open them at half-mast; he was still so exhausted. The raven was about to push himself to a sitting position when warm hands clasped onto his shoulders and kept him in place. He was about to question who it was only to relax when familiar calloused fingers ran through his hair soothingly. He moved to turn over when his head fell off his pillow and landed on something hard. Gray hissed in pain before sitting up only to realize that he wasn't in his room like he thought he was. His eyes widened as he took in the rocky walls and felt his heart rate pick up; he couldn't be trapped again…not again!

"Gray," A tired voice came from beside him, "You need to calm down."

The ice mage's head turned towards the source of the voice and froze when he saw who it was. Natsu was leaning against the jagged rocks; scratches, bruises and deep lacerations lined his frame in a coat of blood. His pale hands started to shake as he reached out to touch his dragon slayer's face when Natsu's hands clasped tightly around his own. The pinkette carefully pulled the raven into his lap and pressed his forehead against Gray's. Gray hadn't even realized that he was practically hyperventilating until Natsu had done that.

"N-Natsu…" Gray whispered, "What happened?"

The pinkette seemed to stiffen under him and he couldn't help but feel anxiety build in his chest. Gray thought back to what he could remember and all that came back to him was pain; excruciating pain that made him think that dying would be better than the pain he was feeling. He also remembered the dark guild and their leader Eros as well as something about a key; then there was also Niall and Toshiro…

"Niall and Toshiro! Natsu are they alright?! What happened?!" He demanded nervously, "Answer me damnit!"

Natsu placed his hands on either side of Gray's face and ran the pads of his thumbs over his cheekbones. The raven could feel his eyes burning as his fear morphed into tears; he buried his face into the crook of his mate's neck and inhaled the fiery scent that mingled along his tanned skin and on his precious muffler. Natsu ran his long fingers through his raven hair silently; Gray could practically hear the cogs in the pinkette's brain turning.

"They're not…"

"No love," Natsu's hand froze as he pulled Gray out of the crook of his neck, "No, they're fine; they just took us."

Gray sagged in his mate's grip as relief seemed to settle over him. Even if they were in this shitty situation, at least the twins were safe. He stared into Natsu's onyx eyes and saw the fear, anger and anguish lingering in his eyes. He thought back to what happened with Eros before he fell unconscious; Natsu, everyone, had to listen to his screams of pain and they…he…couldn't do anything. Gray's eyes softened as he placed his lips on the pinkette's forehead lovingly,

"I'm alright Natsu; I'm right here and I'm not going to leave you…I promised remember?"

Natsu closed his eyes as his lips quivered,

"You were in so much pain and, and then you suddenly went still…I couldn't even _feel_ you anymore; I thought I lost you forever."

Gray's eyes widened as he pressed the dragon slayer's head to his chest so that he could listen to his heart beats. He could feel Natsu's frame shaking against his, but the movements were slowly dying. He ran his fingers through the pink hair softly as his mate's words echoed throughout his mind. To think that Eros was powerful enough to temporarily sever a connection as strong as bond between a slayer and its mate was fearful. For one brief moment, Natsu thought he was dead and that he was never coming back; he didn't even want to imagine how much pain that caused him.

He found his mind drifting to the blonde haired, blue eyed Core Bearer (now revealed to be named Fai D. Flourite) and the new raven haired, brown eyed Core Bearer he had dreamed about. Even though he couldn't remember what exactly each of their stories entailed he knew that they correlated in some areas. Both of them had mated with a dragon slayer, both of them had children, both of them were taken from their children and both of them lost their mates and their lives.

With the way his life was going right now…he feared that he had finally led Natsu Dragneel to his death.

FTFTFTFT

For what had to be the millionth time in a couple years, the Fairy Tail Guild Hall had been reduced to rubble.

What used to be support beams laid splintered on the ground and what used to be the roof and the walls had once again fallen. What used to be tables, the bar, the pool, Max's Merchandise Shack, all of it, it just didn't exist anymore. Among the rubble and the carnage laid the most devastated of the attack; the members of Fairy Tail themselves. No one was standing proudly; everyone was sitting amongst the disaster area that was there home…all of them coated in blood, tears and scars. There was an air of sadness that hasn't been present since the death of Master Makarov a couple years back.

Gramps had died a peaceful death; he simply drifted away in his sleep after his body could no longer fight an illness that had started to plague him. Despite his peaceful passing, his death had of course hit everyone in Fairy Tail hard. Gramps was the father figure for the majority of the members; he was there to lead them when their own families weren't. As the fallen members sat in the rubble of their once great home, they couldn't help but wish that Gramps was still alive; he would know what to do. Laxus was not by any means a terrible master, but he was still young and had yet to gain the experience that Gramps had.

As Erza Scarlet tucked Niall Dragneel tightly into her side she couldn't help but feel useless. Even with all of Fairy Tail standing against the Protogenoi, they were unable to protect Gray and Natsu. She would never forget the anguished expression Natsu had on his face as Gray fell to the ground. Just from looking at his dirt covered tanned face, she could tell that something deep inside the dragon slayer broke when Gray's screams stopped. It was like that day all those years ago when Yakumo Whalen slit the ice mage's throat. It was at that moment she realized why the Protogenoi Guild would want to make Natsu ten years younger as well; his dragon slayer magic wasn't as tamed as it was when he was thirty-three years old…it was easier to subdue him.

"Aunty Erza," Niall sniffled into her side, "Are Papa and Dad going to be alright?"

The red haired mage sighed sadly and trailed her and over Niall's raven locks comfortingly. The young ice mage had yet to stop crying; she could understand why, but it worried her. However, he seemed to be handling himself better than his older brother. Toshiro had worked himself into unconsciousness shortly after Natsu and Gray had been taken from them. The twins tried to find Gray immediately by using their Core, but they quickly hit a force field. Toshiro tried to fight his way through the field, Niall right by his side, but he already used up the majority of his magic trying to contact Gray when they were first taken and attacking the Protogenoi named Gaea.

"They're going to be just fine," She tried to sound confident, "It's your Dad and Papa after all; they've been through a lot together."

"But these guys," He stared up at her with watery eyes, "Th-They want the Core of Magic that Papa has, specifically his a-and we br-brought them right to the g-guild!"

Erza instantaneously lifted the boy onto her lap and squeezed him to her chest tightly even though both their injured bodies protested. She pressed Niall's face to the crook of her neck as his wails echoed throughout the once proud guild hall. She looked at her family members as she tried to calm her godson; all them mirroring her look of pain, guilt and anger.

"Niall Lyon Dragneel," An exhausted voice huffed from her other side, "Don't you ever say that it was your fault."

The requip mage and Niall both glanced towards the source of the voice and saw a tired Lyon sitting beside them. The silver haired ice mage raised a hand and placed it on his nephew's cheek; using his thumb to catch the tears that were falling down his face.

"What would your Papa and Dad say if they heard you blaming yourself?"

Niall sniffled loudly and touched Lyon's hand for comfort,

"They would probably be really mad…"

Lyon smiled softly, albeit sadly, and nodded his head,

"Exactly, so don't blame yourself anymore; there was absolutely nothing you could do."

The young ice mage nodded his head and laid his head on Erza's shoulder, his eyes closing due to exhaustion. It didn't take long for Niall to pass out in Titania's embrace; she ran her hand along his back as she stood up (struggling slightly) and walked over to where Toshiro was resting. She laid the raven next to his older brother and watched as they both subconsciously reached for each other and tangled their limbs. She watched them and couldn't help but think how _normal _the twins looked despite the situation.

"Erza," Lucy came up behind her, "What are we going to do?"

She turned towards her blonde haired friend and took in her ragged appearance. It has been a long time since the Fairy Tail Guild had to face something this big and her intuition was telling her that this wasn't even the worse of it yet. The members of that dark guild were on a much higher level than herself; possibly even stronger than Gildarts or Laxus even. There was just something about them…it was as if they were older than what they seemed.

"Did anything seem strange about them to any of you?" Erza demanded.

"Their magic was ancient; almost as old as dragon slaying magic, possibly older than the celestial spirits." Loke stated with arms folded across his chest.

The members of Fairy Tail seemed to freeze at that statement; it was rare when a certain magic was older than celestial magic. Jellal walked over to Erza and wrapped his arm around her as he addressed everyone.

"Their magic also seemed to have a dark quality," His dark hazel eyes seemed to unfocus, "it resembled that of Zeref's."

"Could those bastards be using magic from the book of Zeref?" Cana demanded tensely.

"Not necessarily," Lyon muttered as he sat near his nephews, "What if their magic derives from the same dark mass as Zeref's magic?"

"What do you mean Lyon-san?" Wendy whispered fearfully.

The silverette seemed to ponder his thoughts for a few moments before speaking,

"The best way to describe it would be to say that they dabbled in the same dark magic Zeref did _when _Zeref did."

The air of the demolished guild hall seemed to freeze solid as Lyon's statement lingered. Erza glanced over at the silverette with a raised eyebrow,

"But Zeref first walked Earthland millennia ago…"

Lucy's mouth dropped open,

"You're not suggesting that those creepers are millions of years old are you?! That's impossible! Their master only looked twelve at the most and that Gaea girl looked even younger!"

"So is aging flame head and ice brain ten years," Gajeel grunted, "And look what happened."

Erza's fist clenched at her side as the new revelation circled around her head. She thought of everything that happened from before Gray and Natsu's disappearance until now. It was all jumbled in her head and threatened to give her a massive headache; none of it seemed to make sense. They had to get their brothers back, not only for them but for Niall and Toshiro; they needed to have their fathers…they couldn't be subjected to the pain that each and every one of them felt in the past.

"What are they planning?!" Erza hissed furiously.

"The Core of Magic…"

The red head snapped towards the voice and found her gaze zeroing in on Juvia,

"What did you say?"

The blunette fidgeted with her sleeves slightly but addressed the guild with confidence,

"Juvia thinks it has to do with the Core of Magic…"

Lucy sweatdropped,

"I think we established that Juvia."

"NO!" Juvia growled; the sound of water reaching everyone's ears, "Not only Gray-sama's Core of Magic… _all _the Core of Magics!"

Jellal's eyes widened,

"She might be onto something; if these mages have been alive for millennia, there has to be a reason why they wanted Gray's Core of Magic specifically! We have to be missing something!"

Once again the guild went silent as they thought about Jellal and Juvia's revelation. Erza crossed her arms over her chest stiffly and tried to think through all the clues that they have. It would be more beneficial if they knew the Protogenoi Guild's plans, but seeing as they didn't reveal it they would have to do without. However, if Juvia and Jellal's theories were correct, then they would simply have to look through for the Ancestry Tree of the Core of Magic. Suddenly, Lyon's laugh broke through all their thoughts. Erza turned towards the silverette to glare at him, but found hope bubbling in her chest when she saw Lyon's cocky ass grin firmly planted on his face.

"I can think of one mage who would be able to search through every magical database in Earthland who can help us out," He winked at Erza, "But it might make you a tad uncomfortable Titania… especially with all the _parfume_."

A chill travelled down Erza's back as sweat mingled on her brow,

"Please, anyone but HIM!"

TBC

**Hey minna! I hope this chapter isn't horrible, I really tried my best! If you guys can't guess the Core pairing of the past, it's okay but I think it's pretty obvious :P Sorry if you don't like the pairing tho and sorry if they're OOC! Our lovely Fairy Tail has been demolished once more and the guild members are in shambles; can Erza swallow her fear and do the inevitable?! More importantly, what does the Protogenoi Guild have in store for Natsu and Gray?! For the answers you'll have to stay tuned! Waiting on your reviews :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. WAY TO GO WENDY FOR ACHIEVING DRAGON FORCE! WE FAIRY TAIL FANS ARE SO PROUD OF YOU! I'm counting down the days until we finally learn the truth about Gray and Silver as well as counting down the days til April 4****th**** which is the OFFICIAL RETURN DATE OF FAIRY TAIL! SO EXCITED! XD**

_**Answer to Reviews!**_

_**There are five this time! Thanks to the people who favourited and followed as well!**_

_**Koori Shirayuki: Here's the next update! Enjoy!**_

_**Yugato: Here's what happened! Probably didn't answer all your questions tho! I still hope you enjoyed it! **_

_**Casseg (Guest): The 'key' part probably won't be expanded on for a while, but it will be answered! I'm glad that you're happy that I'm continuing the story 'cause I am too!**_

_**Jazzmonkey (Guest): Of course I kept the series going ;) I just couldn't resist torturing Natsu and Gray, plus I wanted to write more about Niall and Toshiro! I'm glad you're enjoying it!**_

_**nori of the sea: I'm so happy that my stories mean that much to you! It honestly warms my heart and definitely makes me want to keep writing! As for inspiring you to post your own story, that makes me feel so good that I seriously want to cry! It's my dream to inspire readers just by my work so I hope you do post your own story so I can read it! Good luck with your writing and I hope to be seeing some of your work soon! :D Here's a new chapter for you!**_


	5. Chapter 5 - Bargains and Voices

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns the magnificent masterpiece known as Fairy Tail…though this particular story is mine and mine alone!**

**Warnings: Language, Violence, Yaoi**

Natsu opened his eyes to darkness.

He didn't know how much time had passed since he and Gray had been taken by the Protogenoi Guild, but if he had to guess he'd have to say that it's been a couple days at the most. He shifted his sore body slightly and forced back a hiss of pain as his back scraped against the rock wall. If he wasn't careful, he would wake up the ice mage and that was something he didn't want to do. Ever since Gray had learned what happened, he hadn't been able to get a full rest when and _if _he managed to fall asleep. When he wasn't being kept awake by his guilt or worry for the guild and the twins, he was suffering from nightmares. Of course this had been a common occurrence after what happened with Gerard, but now Gray was dreaming about Yakumo and Shadowsky again as well; it had been a long time since the raven had suffered from night terrors about them.

Natsu sighed sadly and ran his hand through his husband's hair soothingly when he felt the ice mage shift on his lap. A contented breath escaped Gray's lips as he drifted deeper into the realm of dreams; Natsu was happy that he could do this much. At least he could be here this time around and keep his mate safe from harm…at least he could make sure that Gray would be able to return home safe and sound after the Protogenoi Guild was defeated. A smile wormed its way onto his lips as he thought of his remaining family members who were left behind when they were taken by the dark guild. He knew that without a doubt Erza and the others would stop at nothing in order to bring both Gray and himself back home; he hoped that they would be able to stop the twins from doing anything reckless.

The sound of a door opening suddenly reached his sensitive ears and caused his entire body to tense. No doubt feeling his unease, even within his dreams, Gray began to stir as well. The ice mage was slowly lifting himself to a sitting position when the sound of metal on rock echoed around them ominously. Natsu felt his raven's breathing shallow; most likely from the horrible memories that Yakumo and Shadowsky bequeathed him with before they were defeated the first time…even he had to admit that the noise sounded like the door to Gray's first prison. Natsu quickly wrapped his arm around Gray's waist and pulled the shivering ice mage closer to his side.

"I'm right here love," He whispered as soothingly as possible, "I'm not going to let them hurt you; I promise."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Gray nodding his head, but he was pretty sure that his mate wasn't completely with him at the moment. Natsu squeezed the ice mage tighter and pulled him so that he was practically hiding behind the pinkette's frame. An almost inaudible gasp escaped from the raven behind him causing Natsu to curse under his breath; he really didn't think that movement all the way through.

"N-Natsu…"

The dragon slayer searched around behind him and managed to latch onto Gray's chilly fingertips,

"Gray, I'm fine."

Electricity seemed to shoot down Natsu's spine as he felt Gray's raven hair brush across his back as he shook his head frantically,

"Y-Your back…"

Natsu opened his mouth to tell him that he was going to be okay when the final door opened and footsteps bounced off the walls of their prison. He could feel Gray's eyes digging into his back, but he pushed it out of his mind and focused all his attention on the two mages walking towards them. Khaos was closest to them with his hands clasped firmly behind him and a smile on his aging face while Tartarus stuck farther in the shadows, his golden eyes shining eerily in the dark.

"Ah," Khaos' smile broadened, "It's magnificent to see that our two guests are awake; I hope you two are comfortable."

The pinkette narrowed his eyes dangerously and simply glared at the men standing in front of them. Gray was still shaking slightly, but he could tell that the raven was starting to calm down; if only for the fact that his hate for the mage's standing in front of him rivaled his fear of being trapped and tortured. Natsu searched for Gray's fingers once more and was relieved when the raven readily grabbed onto his hand and shifted from behind the dragon slayer so that he was almost sitting beside Natsu once more.

"This is disheartening," The silver haired mage pouted, "Don't you want to talk to us?"

Natsu growled deep in his throat,

"There's nothing for us to talk about."

Khaos sighed before releasing his clasped hands and letting them dangle to his side almost in defeat. Natsu, however, wasn't as stupid as most of his enemies thought; he may look ten years younger, but he sure didn't lose any brain cells. After everything he and Gray gone through, he knew how to keep a somewhat level head even if his magic was a little more spontaneous than what he was used to at the moment. Khaos turned towards Tartarus who had yet to leave the corner of the room,

"You were actually right; I thought that they would be at least a _little _curious about why they're here…"

Tartarus chuckled darkly causing Natsu's skin to crawl,

"I just figured that _they _would have contacted him by now that's all."

Gray seemed to stiffen beside him as the words left the illusionist bastard's mouth. He was about to ask what the hell was happening when Khaos' laugh echoed around them. Before Natsu could even think of moving, the dark mage was standing in front of them; a deranged smirk planted on his face. He buried a hand in Gray's raven hair and yanked forward causing a harsh cry to be pulled from his lips. Fury quickly consumed Natsu's entire being and he went to dive at Khaos in order to get him to release Gray only to have Tartarus suddenly appear in front of him and pin him to the wall. Natsu tried to kick at him, but all he seemed to be kicking was air…

"Really Salamander," Tartarus clucked, "Do you really think I would be dumb enough to attempt to restrain you with my actual body?"

Natsu hissed darkly,

"Let go of Gray before I burn you into a pile of tar!"

Khaos chuckled and tightened his grip on the ice mage,

"I'd like to see you try Natsu Dragneel; all the others before you did and they all failed…but of course Gray Fullbuster would already know that wouldn't he?"

The pinkette glanced over at his mate and noticed the pain in his mismatched blue eyes; it was only then that he noticed that it wasn't because of Khaos' hold on his hair. His view was quickly disrupted when Gray was tossed roughly on his stomach. Natsu waited for his ice mage to get back to his feet; only to realize that Gray was shaking once more, staring fearfully at Khaos. The pinkette stared at his frozen mate; it has been ages since he's seen that much fear on Gray's face…the last time he was anything like that was…

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"

Flames exploded out of his body, bathing the once dark and rocky prison with light. Tartarus hissed and recoiled almost painfully; his illusion distorting from its co-existence with the flames. Natsu dropped from the wall onto all fours; his dragon instincts quickly swallowing any reasonable thinking that he may have had. He dashed towards his hunched over mate and jumped over him protectively; growling at Khaos warningly with barred teeth.

"Don't. You. Ever. Touch. Him!"

Khaos blinked at him for a moment before bursting out into uncontrollable laughter. Natsu moved closer to Gray and pushed him behind his body. The pinkette's gaze never strayed from the silverette even as the malevolent laughter disappeared.

"Do you honestly think you can stop me?" He tilted his head to the side; his silver eyes taking on a tint of red, "Even if you were to try, it would be foolish boy; but you don't need to be so rabid, I wasn't going to hurt him."

"Bullshit!" Natsu roared as he pressed Gray closer to himself, "If that was true wouldn't have taken us in the first place."

"Oh please," Tartarus growled as his illusionary body stabilized, "If you wouldn't have posed such a problem to our plans, you wouldn't even be here."

"What are you talking about?" Natsu demanded.

"They're going to hurt you…"

Natsu's head snapped to the side and his eyes widened when he saw Gray looking at him sadly. The raven tried to smile reassuringly at the dragon slayer before his attention turned towards the dark mages. Natsu didn't like the look that was on his love's face and tried to pry his way into Gray's mind through the bond, but he hit a brick wall; and this time he knew that it was Gray keeping him locked out.

"You want my Core right?" Gray hissed, "I can tell you a point in my life where the Core was the least stable; even more than it is now."

Natsu's eyes widened,

"Gray don't you dare!"

Khaos ignored the outburst from the dragon slayer and kept his eyes firmly on Gray's,

"Oh really…at what cost?"

The pinkette growled under his breath, but this time it was both at his ice mage and the dark mage. He couldn't believe that Gray was actually going to contemplate this; a time when not only his control of his Core was slackened, but his body was ready to give out on him as well. He wanted to stop Gray from whatever he was going to do when suddenly it was like he couldn't move. He shifted his gaze to his body and saw that chains had materialized all over his frame; from Tartarus' glowing eyes he was willing to bet it was because of him.

"You have to promise not to hurt Natsu…"

"Don't be stupid!" Natsu yelled at the raven, "I can handle myself!"

The corner of Khaos' mouth seemed to twitch in amusement,

"It's funny how much you key's resemble each other; it's almost like déjà vu."

The silver haired mage glanced over at the illusionist and a silent conversation seemed to pass between them. After a few moments, Khaos turned towards the captive mages with a triumphant expression on his face. He walked up to Gray and grabbed the boy's chin forcefully making their eyes meet unflinchingly.

"Tell me the age and we have an accord."

Natsu fought with his restraints and was about to yell at his ice mage when chains started to wrap around his mouth as well. Gray's body was once again shaking beside him, but this time Natsu could tell that it was hatred towards himself for what he was about to do…

"Eighteen," Gray whispered, "I was eighteen."

FTFTFTFT

"You can't leave us behind!" Toshiro shouted angrily.

Lyon huffed under his breath and pressed his fingers to his temples in frustration. He forgot how stubborn his nephews could be and they've already wasted two days trying to recuperate enough to make the trip to the Blue Pegasus Guild; if they didn't leave soon, then they would have to wait another day so they can get on the train that they needed. The silverette looked down at his oldest nephew and crossed his arms across his chest in an attempt to look domineering.

"Well you can't come with us," He denied forcefully, "Your parents would kill me if we involved you in this even more."

"But they're our parents!" The young pinkette hissed, "If anyone has the right to bring them back it's us!"

He just couldn't make the stubborn fire mage see sense; it was as if he was actually trying to talk to Natsu and that was just plain terrifying. Lyon sighed in exasperation as his onyx eyes fell on the ever silent Niall Dragneel. While Toshiro has been making a fuss for the past two days about letting them join in on the mission, Niall had stayed ominously silent. This of course made the guild worry even more; sure, Niall was the quiet one of the Dragneel twins, but he was never like this.

"Toshiro, that's enough," Erza ordered menacingly, "You can't come on this mission and that's final."

The young fire mage's fists exploded into flames at his sides as his rage started to skyrocket,

"Even though you say we can't go Aunty Erza; nothing will stop us from leaving on our own when you're gone."

"Toshiro Igneel Dragneel!" Lucy admonished him, "Don't talk to us that way; it's not safe for you to leave the guild hall."

"Why…"

Lyon blinked for a moment before turning to the soft and strained voice that reached his ears. Niall was staring up at them with tears gathering in his blue eyes; however, by the quivering of the younger twin's bottom lip, he could tell that Niall was trying to hold his tears at bay. Niall walked over to his older brother and put his hand on his shoulder in an effort to calm him down. Toshiro's deep blue eyes seemed to narrow suspiciously for a moment before the fire slowly died from his hands.

"Why are we fighting when Dad and Papa are gone?" He whispered, "They wouldn't like it very much."

Lyon smiled softly and placed his hand on Niall's raven hair; running his fingers through the locks comfortingly. It was amazing how much the young raven could be like Gray sometimes; it was definitely something the older mage would've said to Natsu in order to calm the raging dragon slayer if one of his family members was hurt.

"He's right you know," Jellal smiled softly, "Now isn't the time to be at each other's throats."

Erza sighed and pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead,

"I know that…but what I said still stands; I don't want you boys to come along."

Toshiro's fists tightened at his sides,

"But…we know things about the Core that Mister Hibiki might take ages to find."

The older ice mage's eyes widened at the muttered words and he knelt down in front of the two boys. He looked at them calculatedly, searching for any signs of deception but it seemed like they were telling the truth…not that it was like them to lie about something concerning the Core anyways. As if reading his mind Loke spoke up,

"And what would that be?"

Niall bit his lip nervously before staring into Lyon's onyx eyes,

"We can hear their…voices?"

Lyon raised an eyebrow at the young raven and looked up at the older mages surrounding them. Lucy looked as if she thought the twins might have lost their minds while Erza resembled someone who had just seen a ghost. Jellal was regarding the twins closely as if searching for something that would give away the fact they were being controlled by someone and Loke for some strange reason almost looked like he believed them. Wendy and Gajeel had deep frowns on their faces as they looked at the twins which Lyon also felt was odd.

"Wendy, Gajeel," Lyon called out, "What are you thinking?"

"It's just…when Gray-san…" Wendy stuttered, "It's like what Gray-san said before the dark guild broke into Fairy Tail…"

Gajeel nodded tensely; his red eyes narrowing dangerously,

"Ice princess said that he heard children screaming…what voices do you boys hear?"

Toshiro folded his arms across his chest defensively,

"You're going to think that we're crazy…"

Lyon placed his hands on Shiro's warm shoulders and stared the boy in the eye evenly. Standing this close to him, he could see the starting of dark circles underneath the young mage's eyes. He was sure that if he were to do the same to Niall, he would have dark circles as well. He smiled reassuringly at the pink haired mage,

"Even if we did it wouldn't matter…what kind of Fairy Tail mage are you if you have even a teaspoon of sanity? I mean look at your Aunty Erza…"

A dark aura sprung up from behind him,

"Bastia…"

Toshiro chuckled softly, but the small smile quickly disappeared. He moved out of Lyon's grip and grabbed a hold of Niall's hand. Lyon glanced over at the raven haired mage and noticed the torn expression on his face.

"So far we've only heard the voices of Akira Kurogane and Hana Suoh…but we think that we'll be able to hear more soon…"

"What makes you say that?" Lucy whispered.

Toshiro cleared his throat before trying to speak,

"Because they say Papa is the last one…"

Lyon went to open his mouth when Niall cut him off,

"The last key…the key to the end of the world…"

FTFTFTFT

Eros sat on his throne; six orbs of elemental power gathered around him. His amethyst coloured eyes lingered on the golden orb before turning to the silver orb. If his theory was correct, Gray Fullbuster had to have dreamt about the Lightning and the Metal which meant that things were moving smoothly. It was funny that the spirits of the deceased Core Bearers try to reach out to their descendants in order to save them; especially when it only leads to their death instead.

He had to admit that he liked this generation of the Core as much as he enjoyed the last one; then again they did jump the gun on that one…almost destroyed the chance of ever obtaining a final key. No matter…things worked out as they were predicted and now the world could finally be set right. Hopefully, Khaos will be able to properly take advantage of Gray Fullbuster and deceive the Core bearer into doing something that would benefit the guild.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by his throne room doors being pushed open; speak, or in this case think, of the devil and he may appear. Khaos strode into the room with Tartarus trailing behind him; both just as relaxed as they had been before they went into the holding cell. They approached the throne and bowed down to the younger silverette respectfully.

"Master," Khaos smiled, "We got what you asked for; he was eighteen years old at his weakest."

Eros nodded his head,

"I figured as such considering that was the year his Core awakened inside of him and was also the darkest year of his life; the Core would no doubt be unstable during that time…what did you have to promise in return?"

Tartarus scowled,

"The fool promised that we wouldn't harm Natsu Dragneel."

Amethyst eyes narrowed furiously as he glared at the Void mage,

"Is this true?! You know just as well as I that the Dragon Slayer mate is just as important to the ritual as the Keys!"

"It's alright your excellency," Khaos reassured him, "Gray Fullbuster phrased his demand as '_you_ have to promise not to hurt Natsu'; you, Tartarus and Gaea have no claim to that promise, only I can't touch the dragon slayer."

Eros smiled demonically and pushed himself from his throne; the six orbs of magic following him as he walked. He stopped in front of the mural hanging on the throne room wall and laughed under his breath,

"Perfect…everything is perfect."

TBC

**Hey minna! New chapter for you guys…though I'm not sure if I'm happy with it or not yet. Sorry if Gray seems really, really OOC in this chapter; it's only because for the majority of his and Natsu's portion he was having flashbacks and some PTSD…this will probably be explained in the next chapter. At least you have some more insight into what the Protogenoi are planning! And yes the twins can hear the voices of the other children of the Core…is that weird? Please tell me if that's weird! Anyways, I'm waiting on your lovely reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. Sorry for the late updates on all my stories! I'm in exam period right now so my mind hasn't really been on writing, plus I had writer's block O.o isn't that wonderful?! **

**On another note… THE EPISODES OF THE NEW FAIRY TAIL ARE AWESOME OMG! Although I feel like the art changed… but I might be crazy lol but I still love love love it! GRAY VS RUFUS IS ON APRIL 26****TH****! SO EXCITED!**

_**Answer to Reviews!**_

_**There are four of you lovely people this time around! Thanks to all those who favourited and followed too! You guys are just as awesome and I hope the chapter doesn't disappoint!**_

_**Casseg: So glad that you liked learning about the past of the 2**__**nd**__** male Core bearer; there's going to be more of that in the near future so I hope at some point you might run into one of your other pairings! Here's the new update for you!**_

_**mooney-96: YAY! You like the crossover; I'm so happy! Here's another chapter for you, I hope you're not too disappointed!**_

_**Yugato: Thanks for the compliment; it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside :3 Especially since you've been with me from the very beginning of my posting career! I hope you like this new chapter!**_

_**Vivianne95: I'm glad that you found out about this sequel and I hope you enjoy this as much as you seemed to enjoy Road to Happiness! I'll try to have oodles of Natsu x Gray moments and it probs will be a lot of hurt/comfort moments just so you're warned! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! **_


End file.
